Prevalence of Smoking among Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is one of the most important preventable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. It has been seen that medical students have a higher frequency of smoking
compared to the general population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of smoking among
third-year medical students in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the hospital's third-year
undergraduate medical students over a four-month period (October 2019 to January 2020). Ethical
clearance was received from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical College
and Teaching Hospital. The whole sampling technique was used to collect data. The Global Health
Professional Students Survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Data analysis was done in the
statistical package for social sciences.

Results: The prevalence of current smoking among selected medical students of Kathmandu Medical
College and Teaching Hospital is 34 (30.1%), majority male 26 (23%). Fifty-six (49.4%) of them had
ever smoked cigarettes in their life, and 27 (23.9%) had their first cigarette in late adolescence. The
number of students who used other forms of tobacco was comparatively lower i.e. 6 (5.3%). Many
of the students 53 (46.9%) were exposed to second-hand smoke both at home and in public, while 18
(15.9) exposed only at public places, and 6 (5.3%) only at home.

Conclusions: Our study has concluded that there is a notable prevalence of smoking among the
participants. This points to the need for specific training sessions in their clinical years about smoking
cessation for themselves and regarding counseling for patients.